Emirates cargo head to retire

Friday, January 25, 2013

Ram Menen, divisional senior vice president of cargo at Emirates Airline, has decided to leave after 40 years in the business.
In an email to close associates, he wrote that he's taking early retirement from his 27-year Emirates SkyCargo career to spend more time with family and friends and continue to travel the world.
Menen will officially retire in June, leaving behind a cargo division he wrote “has become the largest airline cargo operator in the world.” He added that he leaves the cargo arm of the airline in good hands and that after starting from nothing in 1985, his work at the head of the division is done. An official announcement about his replacement has not been made.

Menen

“I leave a very strong and great able team behind,” he wrote. “They will always be a part of my family as you all will. I have also been very fortunate to work with some of the best folks in the industry and made many great friends. I have also been able to learn from the best.”
He plans to now divide his time between summers in Europe and winters in Kuala Lumpur, with Luxembourg as his home base.
Menen started on his path as part of the Kuwait Airways team, moving on to become the director of cargo operations in Kuwait for British Airways. Before taking the job at Emirates, he also worked managing the freight forwarding division of a Kuwaiti shipping agency. He is a founding board member of The International Air Cargo Association and also served on the International Air Transport Association’s cargo committee.
“The air freight business is filled with folk heroes who are known for their knowledge, friendliness and likability,” Brandon Fried, head of the Airforwarders Association, said upon hearing the news. “He'll always be at the top of the charts in my book, and I wish him luck.” - Jon Ross